Backtrack
by inkdragon13
Summary: Before Earth, before the Great War, before Megatron, before the mask, Soundwave was a different mech that no one who is still alive truly knows. Now, it's time to take a step back and see how he became the silent, faceless Decepticon he is today.
1. Meeting

**Thanks to my wonderful reviewer named KayleeChiara, I am now going deeper into Soundwave's past. This is going to be based around a flashback that took place in chapter ten of my story, Tiny. You don't need to read that to understand this fic. The reviewer mentioned above saw that this could turn into a separate story on its own, and I saw that there is next to nothing known about Soundwave before the Great War. And so, this fic was born.**

**This will be following the Prime continuity Soundwave with a few references from the novel **_**Transformers: Exodus**_** by Alex Irvine and exploring how Soundwave became the silent Decepticon communications officer he is today. This told from Soundwave's POV. I don't own Transformers or Transformers Exodus. Hasbro and Alex Irvine is rated T for a reason.  
**

**Soundwave talks here, but not much.**

_**"**__**It's easy to feel okay about taking out an enemy who's been characterized as 'evil', here you've brought out the idea [that] they're not..."**_**-A Review from KayleeChiara**

"Alright, ore squadron twelve, get started on the South Manganese Mountains shipment immediately!"

I looked up from the cauldron of white hot liquid metal I was about the pour into the armor decor cast. The manager of the factory I worked in had come out of his cooled office to make this announcement. The mechs around me, filthy from work, all looked up at the high balcony. Soon the only sound that could be heard was the low growling of the many furnaces in the factory and the cooling fans of overheating workers.

I, along with twenty-nine others, am in ore squadron twelve and just completed a particularly large shipment from the mountains. Many of us needed refueling, but we usually only recieved our rations of energon once our work was completed. In this case, we were now far from done.

Many of us complain about the work, but we know better than to voice our opinions in an official manner to the owners of industry in our city-state, Tagan Heights. There would be no point in trying. The only job we can do is factory work, and if we leave in protest, we can easily be replaced. Aside from that, we would not rise up against the owners of industry because they provide the energon we use to support ourselves. Our labor is 'rewarded', I suppose.

"I'm just glad we get off soon. I can't wait till I get home," My friend, Chisel, grunted in a f\vaguely frustrated manner from near the furnace he was in charge of. He hated this labor, but, like the rest of us working in this factory complex, he was born into a low caste. The higher castes leaned too heavily on our labor to allow us to slip out from underneath them. Anyway, Chisel is correct; we do leave relatively soon.

A few solar cycles ago I first heard that there would be a new factory worker replacing a mech who was killed in a furnace accident. At first I ignored it. It was nothing unusual to have mechs swiftly replaced in this line of work. But the fact that the word itself was spreading around so quickly alarmed me somewhat. It's not my place to investigate (I am a mere factory worker) but it is becoming hard to resist the urge.

I poured the liquid metal in the cast and pulled the lever so it could be instantly pressed and cooled into the appropriate item. The rapidly cooling piece was then dumped out of the cast and onto a conveyor belt to be assembled with other pieces by the mechs stationed there. I poured more molten metal from Chisel's furnace into my cauldron and repeated the process over again. This was tedious, tiring work and often left many of my fellow workers bored. To pass the time, they sang old praises to Primus quite often. I sometimes participated.

After hours of more work, my squadron was allowed off work. Most mechs ran out of the factory complex like younglings from a youth academy, not that any of these mechs have been to one. Being born into a low caste makes it next to impossible to enroll into a school. I was one of the lucky ones, however. My carrier managed to 'pull a few fiber strands', as Chisel would say, and get me into the local academy. I couldn't graduate, though, because of the work draft the Tagan Heights labor management department issued for me. I would have been arrested if I chose not to comply with the draft.

I walked outside with my close friend, Chisel. I adjusted the visual input in my optics as the setting sun glared onto my faceplates over the massive complex buildings.

"Wave, I'll see you tomorrow." Chisel gave a tired smile and headed towards his personal residence. I lifted a servo in farewell and walked southwest, towards my own home. My residence is nothing to take much pride in. It's small and I can only afford to pay for the things I absolutely need, such as a berth, stores of energon, among other things. I am just barely able to pay for the energon-powered lighting, but I have managed for a while now. There are some bots that are worse off than me.

I could fly to the residential complex I live in on the outskirts of Tagan Heights, but I prefer to walk. It allows me time to clear my processor and reflect on the day's events. The light sensitive lamps lining the empty street flickered on as the sun disappeared over the huge buildings around me. I quickened my pace. This particular road is notorious for night attacks. Though I am not particularly concerned, I'm better safe than sorry.

Just before I reached the corner before my residential complex, I heard a faint sound. I stopped and boosted the power to my audio receptors. I do not know what that sound is, but it is coming from far down that alley to my right. I turned and attempted to look for the source of the sound, but to no avail. The alley was too dark for me to see very far and I was no equipped with lights to conduct a search from afar. The only choice I had was to go into the alley.

I cautiously stepped into the shadows of the alleyway and heard the noise once again. It sounded like a whimper. My tension eased slightly as I moved further into the alley. Perhaps it's just a lost cyberdog. I stopped as the sound came again accompanied by other sounds. They were voices, four, to be exact. Three mechs and one that I had trouble identifying. I walked further into the darkness, optics adjusting to the low light levels. The mechs sounded as if they were laughing, but at what, I didn't know. I refrained from drawing conclusions as I drew closer to the sounds. Soon, I was able to see what was going on.

These three mechs (whom I have come to know as workers in the same factory I was stationed in) were holding a soft green femme hostage, one of them pinning her to the wall. I stood still in the shadows, unnoticed by the mechs as I took in the entire scene. The femme had her faceplates turned away from me as she resisted a forced kiss. The whimper I heard earlier was her sobbing. Anger flared in my spark as I watched what the mechs were doing to her. The mech pinning her against the wall had his interface equipment in full view and was pressed against the femme's closed panel. She had been held against her will for quite some time, judging by the bite marks and her slumped stature. She had little fight left.

Because we were born into a low caste, femmes were especially rare. Most of them were quickly claimed by the common factory accidents. These disgraceful mechs were taking full advantage of the weakened femme. I silently stepped out of the shadows.

Not for long.

I quickly grabbed the other two mechs that were watching the first one and slammed their helms against the building wall. A very loud clang resonated as the two slid to the ground. I was not armed, but I'm very strong for my relatively small size. The remaining mech who had pinned the green femme to the wall spun around, optics falling onto me. Before he could respond, I rushed forward and rammed him into the wall next to the femme. The femme nearly leaped away from the mech who attempted to force her into an interface when his frame threatened to fall on her. I shifted so I could see all three of the disgusting mechs. One of the mechs I detained first glared up at me from the ground.

"Who in the Pit do you fraggin' think you are?!" The looks on the other mechs' faces asked the same question. I widened my stance, staring hard at the mech who spoke.

"Lay a servo on a femme again and you will _not_ be so lucky." I stared at them, deadly serious. The clear message came across the mechs and they fled down the alley, after making idle threats to have me killed. I watched them flee in their ground alt-modes before crouching next to the femme and asking if she was alright. She said she was and attempted to stand, only to wobble and fall back to her knees. I assisted her in standing and walked with her back to the street.

"What are you doing out here?" I asked the green femme. She looked at me and gave a small smile.

"I was just allowed off work from the ore factory down the street." My optics widened. I hadn't noticed a femme working in the factory I was in. I would have seen her otherwise. Unless... unless she was the bot who was replacing the mech who was killed in the accident. That would explain the rumors. It was strange to see a femme with such delicate features anywhere near the factories.

I didn't ask her how she had gotten into her previous predicament, not wishing to know, and advised her to stay in the light of the street lamps at night. She laughed quietly, saying that she wasn't a sparkling. I moved on and asked her where her residential complex was. Once we reached to corner, she looked around and pointed to the north at a building nearby. I walked with her there and up to her own personal residence.

She was not badly injured, just tired. The femme is safe. I watched as she keyed in the access code to her residence and the door slid open. Seeing no reason why I should remain any longer, I said goodbye and left for my home without another word.

...Next Workday...

"Hey, Wave, I heard you beat the slag out of those three thugs." Chisel commented in between loads of metal ore to be melted in his furnace. I pulled the lever and the press slammed down on the hot metal to form the item.

"They nearly forced a femme into interfacing with them," I said, pouring more liquefied metal into the now empty cast. I am not surprised that Chisel knows. Gossip spreads very quickly in this factory. I caught a smile on my friend's face.

"Oooh, so _you_ wanted her." I stopped for a moment and stared at my friend. He shrugged and dumped another load of ore into his furnace.

"I was just joking, Soundwave. I know you were just trying to help her, but, come on! How can a mech pass up an opportunity like that?" Before I could respond, I saw someone coming towards me from the corner of my optic. I turned and looked to see the femme from the other day pushing past the mechs working other parts of the factory. I tilted my helm slightly to the side. How did she find me?

She walked towards Chisel and me and stopped before me, cooling fans on high gear. Her servos were dirty, and her frame was covered in the black soot of unprocessed ore. She was indeed a fellow laborer.

"Excuse me, what is your name? I meant to ask yesterday, but you left before I could." Her voice matched her frame, gentle and delicate. I heard a noise that suspiciously sounded like a snicker coming from Chisel, but I ignored it.

"My name is Soundwave." She smiled brightly at me and held out a dirty servo.

"My name is Halyard, but you can call me Halli." I politely took her servo and shook it, marveling at how strong her grip was, despite her dainty appearance.

"Could we share a cube of energon together during our break? I've been meaning to talk to you since last night."

I blinked at her. "Of course, Halya-... Halli."

**And, it is done. The first chapter of Backtrack. So fun to write! :) Again, I want to thank KayleeChiara for giving me this idea in the first place.**

**In the next chapter, Soundwave and Halli will get to know one another during their mid-solar cycle refuel break.**

**Just to be clear, this is Primeverse Soundwave before the Great 's friend, Chisel, likes to joke around and mess with people. He essentially balances out Soundwave's serious, clean cut nature. Tagan Heights is responsible for forty percent of all the industry on Cybertron, which is a lot. Ore factory working is the job of a low caste bot, like ore mining.  
**

**If you have any ideas or opinions for me, just let me know in a review.**

**Until next time, Inkdragon out!**


	2. Acid Rain

**Time to delve deeper into Soundwave's past. Presenting the second chapter of Backtrack!**

**I don't own the Transformers, they own themselves. Told in Transformers Prime Soundwave's POV. **

**Now let's take a trip in the time machine...**

"Here; I brought you some energon." I said, politely handing the femme the cube. She smiled brightly and accepted it. I had waited until the energon dispenser was almost empty to retrieve her cube. The energon at the bottom was always the best tasting. Our squadron was on our refueling break and most of the mechs were taking full advantage of the time to talk among themselves and gossip. However, I could sense the optics of other mechs in the room on myself and the green femme I was sitting down beside. They were undoubtedly curious and talking about the two of us. As long as their chatter does not become a problem, I couldn't care less what they say.

"I want to thank you again for saving me back there, Soundwave." Halyard smiled at me, blue-green optics glittering. I lifted a servo to stop any further verbal gratitude.

"Do not thank me. I was only doing what was right."

She gestured with the energon cube in playful frustration. "Well, I have to do something! ...I could start by telling you something about me. You have right to know something about me since you saved me."

I adjusted my position slightly in the worn chair I was seated in. This femme is very light sparked, contrary to her rather dark past. Halyard had always lived in her residence, though not always alone. She used to live with her creators, who provided for her and, in doing so, kept her from working in the factory. Unfortunately, both of her creators were killed in a massive factory explosion that had occurred eight vorns ago. I remember assisting with the evacuation of the nearest building in the complex I still worked in. Chisel told me that a furnace had exploded and triggered a rapid chain reaction. Most of the four hundred laborers in the building did not survive.

After the death of her creators, she was drafted and supported herself through the pay she receives. I found it admirable that she could talk about these serious matters with such a light spark. I don't think that I would be able to handle that in the same way.

In return, I informed her of my own past. I only knew my carrier and was educated somewhat in my youngling years. I suppose a draft and this caste system binds us all to the same fate, despite differing pasts. This femme could not avoid this labor. Normally femmes of a low caste clean the factories and maintain them to the sanitary levels that the owners of industry require. Her case was different, evidently. Or perhaps the same. Whether the femme does the hard labor of factory work or cleans, she is still working in this factory complex.

"So you were a carrier's mechling?" Halyard joked, smiling at me. I blinked at her.

"I love my carrier very much and see nothing wrong with that, Halyard."

She crossed her legs and moved the now empty cube from one servo to the other. "I'm just teasing, Soundwave. And don't call me that. It sounds too formal to me. I'd prefer you call me 'Halli'."

I looked at her, a slightly curious expression on my faceplates. She wished for me to call her by a nickname, yet I did not know her very well. In my processor, nicknames were strictly reserved for family, sparkmates and friends. Unless she considers me a friend.

"Why don't you just interface with her already?" Both of us turned to look at the mech who had yelled across the room. Halyard glared at the mech seated at a table with his friends.

"Why don't _you_ interface with him? I'm sure it'll be the first one you've had in vorns!" The now embarrassed mech turned back to his friends, apparently taken aback by her response. I would have simply ignored the rude remark, but she yelled back at him. This femme was delicate in appearance, but she had fire in her spark. I admire that feature in her.

I don't mind being her friend.

...

Our friendship progressed rapidly over the solar cycles. The two of us often spent our refuel breaks together, discussing many things. Most of our conversations regarded politics and myths, but I learned many things about Halyard through our discussions. She loved the stories of the Thirteen and loved to talk about them. I learned that she loved to sing very much and also loved to draw, though it was not very good. Not that I would ever tell her that.

She absolutely adorned cybercats, saying that she had always wanted one, but couldn't afford to give the animal the energon it would inevitably need. It was good that she was thinking ahead. Being a lower caste bot, every drop of energon counted.

Chisel had absolutely no problem with me spending more time with Halyard. In fact, he encouraged it, urging me to 'hurry up and claim the femme'.

I felt drawn to the small, delicate femme. Halyard was friendly and seems to always have a smile on her faceplates. Her soft features are somewhat deceiving, however. She is not afraid to defend herself if she feels threatened. Even though that fact is very true, I still take it upon myself to protect her when she's outside the factory.

"You know, you don't have to walk me home." She gave me a sideways look as we walked back to her residence. The evening was swiftly growing dark; I could clearly see our planet's moons over even the tallest buildings in the area. I quickened my step, wordlessly encouraging Halyard to move faster.

"I do not feel comfortable with you walking home alone."

"I'm not that helpless. I have some protection." She reached into her subspace and pulled out a knife of a decent length. The two of us stopped and looked at each other.

"Halyard, strength is not on your side. That knife most likely will not be able to help you." I did not intend to insult her, but her frame type automatically gives a general gauge on how physically strong she is. Because the mechs living in this area are all laborers, they are much stronger than this femme. They could easily overpower her and harm her.

She casually waved me off as we resumed walking. "Fine, fine." There was a brief silence and my mind wandered back to the solar cycle I met Halyard. Because of the encounter I had in the alley, I have been keeping an optic out for the three mechs. I have yet to see them in the factory, something that is alarming me.

If those three mechs were to try anything, I'll be nearby to apprehend them myself. I would not bother trying to contact the police. The Tagan Heights police department was most of the time preoccupied with the calls of the higher caste bots, leaving little time to focus their attention on the needs of the lower castes. If they did take out the time to investigate, too much attention would be drawn to Halyard. We lower caste bots are often left alone to settle our own problems. The street justice among the lower caste bots, especially in Tagan Heights, was brutal. It had a longer lasting effect than prison. But, it is sometimes hard to tell the difference between revenge and street justice.

I cannot subject Halyard to the revenge that I suspect is moving her way. Perhaps leaving her alone is not the wisest idea... But, I must respect her wishes before I act upon my own.

"If you need me, just contact me via radio transmission," I said, giving her the access code for the connections specific to my residence. She nodded and took it, thanking me. Right after, she gave me her own, so that I would recognize the frequency's signature if she chose to call. The expression her faceplate was merely polite, since she didn't expect to need me. I fear that she is over confident in the protection she could provide herself. I didn't voice that opinion and said goodbye to her. Heading back down the street towards my own residence, I prayed that no harm would reach her.

...

Three solar cycles had passed without receiving any sort of transmission from Halyard. During our refuel breaks, I repeatedly checked up on her status but Halyard waved me off, saying that she was going to be fine. I am beginning to seriously doubt that she knows what these mechs are capable of. The three mechs that attacked her were in the same factory complex that we worked in, and I took it upon myself to keep an optic on them, even while I am working.

These mechs were stronger than most others in the complex, in charge of transporting the larger shipments of ore from one building in the complex to the other. All three of them took full advantage of their size and strength in numerous ways. Their names are Blackboom, Tailskidder, and Forestay. It is a known fact that the mechs are in a very notorious group called Black Nail. This group is especially known for brutal forced interfaces with a multitude of the smaller mechs that reside in this city-state. Some of the victims I knew did not survive the session.

Since I interrupted the three mechs, I know that I am in their target sights. But since they did not complete their session with Halyard, their attention would be centered on the delicate femme. While I was working, I sighted Forestay eyeing Halyard. I had made my presence known by leaving my casting station and moving to stand near the green femme. Resentment filled his optics, but he returned to his work. All three of these mechs were not used to being kept from doing what they pleased. I will be the first mech to show them that they can't take whatever they please from bots that are smaller than them, if need be. The other bots are evidently too afraid to, and the local police prefer to steer clear of the Black Nail.

I am greatly concerned for Halyard's safety, but hope that my fears would not come to pass

Unfortunately, that would not be the case.

A loud beep resonated through my berthroom, jolting me awake. Still hazy from recharge, I looked around my barren berthroom, confused. It was the monitor's radio transmission alarm in the front room. I checked my internal chronometer. It was very early in the morning. I doubt many people in the city-state are awake.

I stood from the berth and released the tension in my joints, glancing at my berthroom window. Thick, yellow tinted clouds hovered over the buildings of Tagan Heights, raining acid over the city-state. The pollution emitted into the atmosphere by the eternally operating factory complexes infuses into the clouds, making rain here notorious for being highly corrosive. Staying out in the rain for too long will eat away at a bot's plating. How busy the factories were actually gave us workers a rough prediction as to when it would rain, and how corrosive the acid would be.

The monitor in the front room beeped again. I looked away from the acid-streaked window near my berth and headed out to address the transmission. I clicked the button on the side of the monitor so that the message could play. I tensed as I recognized the voice.

"Sou- wave? ...Plea- co- ... -ome ov-," The acid rain was causing an interference. Thankfully, I was just able to comprehend what the bot was saying even with the signal reception issues. I snapped fully out of recharge and moved swiftly towards the front door. My processor raced as I opened the door and stepped outside in the rain. After setting the security system to lock my home, I moved as fast as my gears would allow down the strangely empty street. I must get there as soon as possible.

Halyard had sent the transmission.

I can only imagine exactly what she may have contacted me for, something I am not satisfied with doing right now, given what could be at stake. In the audio transmission, I could sense a form of urgency I couldn't quite identify. The feeling I received from the transmission failed to put me at ease. The fact that I didn't know what was the problem unnerved me. I greatly disliked attempting to solve an issue without having any sort of valid information. If I do not know enough about the problem at hand, I do not know the full extent of what could possibly be a stake. This is one of the reasons why I preferred to observe a problem before I approach it. After severely burning myself once in the factory while attempting to repair a furnace without knowing that its energon tank was close to ignition, I have always been weary of this sort of situation. I simply don't what I am walking into.

But as of now, I'll have to put my wariness aside.

Thankfully, her residence is not far away from my own. Thunder boomed in the sky above me as I raced to her building and up to her residence. My plating stung from the strong acid rain as I reached Halyard's door. I did not know the code for her residence, not that I would need it. Her door was open, as if it were waiting for me to enter and see what the rooms inside hold.

The front room was dark, with only dim lighting to warn of obstacles in my path. I cautiously took a few steps into her home, weary of what may be inside. I couldn't hear anything beyond the patter of the rain outside on a window somewhere further in Halyard's home. Though I have never been in here before, everything seemed to be in place. I saw a set of furniture and a short table in the front room, neither of which in the best condition because of age. The table had a small, dull purple crystal that was slightly cracked as a centerpiece and was surrounded by cluttered datapads. I noticed that a few datapads were fixed to the walls, their frames varying slightly in color and shape. There was an empty cube of energon sitting on the corner of the table. Overall, this place looked very lived-in.

Suddenly I heard a faint sound, comparable to a whisper. It was emanating from around the corner, in one of the other rooms. I drew close to the wall and leaned over to peer around the corner, unsure of what I would see. There was another door in that short hallway that was open, light pouring out. The sound came again, louder this time. It was coming from that particular room. Unable to think of anything else to do, I walked towards the door and peered inside. My optics widened in shock.

There had been a struggle in the room; the signs were everywhere. Datapads lay shattered on the floor, the window on the far wall was badly cracked from some sort of impact, and dents riddled the walls. But, the room held much more important things than signs stating that it needed repair.

An unfortunately familiar scene met my optics as I looked at the two bots in the room. Halyard was being pinned against the wall by the same mech as before, the mech in which I now wished to inflict great bodily harm. The telltale marks of a hard struggle marred the soft green femme's once flawless form. Judging by how she was taking this violation with so much as jabbing a rude comment at her attacker, she had used up all of her fight.

The mech, whose name I knew was Blackboom, had a servo firmly holding Halyard's thigh, grip purposefully close to the forced open panel between her legs. I could tell that he was using the wall to prop her up, since his other servo grabbed her aft. The mech's back was to me, but I knew what he wanted to do. Blackboom leaned in close to her, murmuring in his scratchy voice in her audio receptor.

"You can't get away, now can you? I bet you regret living alone... And your mech Soundwave isn't here to rescue you." His hips gave a perhaps involuntary jerk, making the trapped femme whimper helplessly. "Good thing it's raining. Otherwise, that transmission you tried to send would have reached that slagger."

Halyard's optics were squeezed shut, mouth working in a silent prayer. She was normally so full of spunk and fire... seeing her so helpless and a smile so far from her faceplate greatly disturbed me. Unable to stand it any longer, I made my presence known to the intruding mech.

"Let her go." His helm whipped around at the sound of my voice. Utter shock and surprise flashed across his faceplates as he let Halyard drop to the ground in the process of standing to face me. My weakened friend did not move to stand. She may need medical attention this time. I think I reached her home too late.

I turned my attention back to Blackboom, who was just shutting his interface panel. I braced myself as I stood there silently. I didn't know Blackboom well enough to accurately predict his next action, so I will prepare myself for whatever comes next. The large mech's optics blazed in hatred as he sneered at me.

"So, Soundwave came to protect his pleasure drone. How nice."

My expression never changed, but I could feel the fire in my spark threatening to become visible. "She is more than a mere pleasure drone, something you and your comrades' feeble, single circuited processors can't seem to be able to handle. Leave her home. _Now_."

Blackboom snarled at the insult, but chose to wisely walk past me and into the hall. I followed him out, silently telling Halyard I will return once the imbecile is out. Once we reached the still open door, Blackboom turned to glower down at me in an attempt to intimidate me. He seems to forget that my close friend, Chisel, is one of the tallest mechs in the factory complex we work in, even comparable to the tallest of the trio of transport mechs, Forestay. I am not easily fazed by a mech's size, to say the very least.

"I hope you know what you're getting yourself into, mech. The Black Nails _don't_ take kindly to interruptions."

I blinked slowly and pointed outside as if I was chastising a youngling, further insulting him. I knew I was putting my spark on the line, but there was a femme inside that he had attacked. Blackboom bore his denta in anger and stomped off into the rain. I watched him until he disappeared around the corner.

After I shut and locked the door, I ran back to the room Halyard was in. The sight of her opened interface panel caused my own frame to betray me, given the throb I felt between my own legs. I shoved the feeling aside and rushed to her. Unequipped with any medical scanners, the only way I could tell if she was alright was by looking at her. Had she been... penetrated by the dolt, her frame would have produced its own lubricant. Thankfully, I saw none on her. She may not have been forced to interface with Blackboom, but that does not mean the possible trauma is not there.

She appeared to have fallen into recharge after the mech released her. I noticed the now dry tear stains streaking down her faceplates. I ventilated, manually shut her interface panel and gently picked the femme up from the floor. The threat Blackboom made was not an idle one. Neither I nor she is safe from harm as of now. I looked down at the batter femme.

However, my safety is not top priority.

I headed towards the door, carrying my friend gently. This attack proves that her home noy as secure as she may have originally thought. She looks badly beaten, though not seriously injured. I supposed she was lucky this time. Had I not come, she could have been killed. Or worse yet, taken to the lair of the Black Nails and enslaved like a pleasure drone. I headed out the door, made sure I locked it behind me and down the street, using my size over hers to shield her from the rain. Thunder boomed again and again, accurately portraying how I felt towards Blackboom.

Despite what she may say, Halyard is no longer safe here. I will protect her in my residence.

...

I glanced at the femme recharging on my berth. She appeared so peaceful in this state, though her dreams may suggest otherwise. More than once she kicked at the air, intent upon harming a nonexistent attacker. I merely sat and watched her, resisting the urge to wake her. She was going to need all the strength she could gather.

I realize that bringing this femme into my home, I have stepped onto an uncertain path that will be as easy to escape as this low caste I am bound to. Under any other circumstances I would have regretted this. But after forming such a bond with the light sparked femme, I, for some reason, do not.

Looking at the sleeping femme from my chair next to the berth, I ventilated. The Black Nails will be back soon. They are by no means finished with us. Not only that, but I am confident that other unseen obstacles lay ahead. These encounters have intertwined us together, perhaps by fate, perhaps by mere coincidence.

Regardless, I will protect her for as long as I must.

**And another chapter done! :) There is a bond forming between Halyard and Soundwave...**

**I own the Black Nail and three of its members, Blackboom, Forestay and Tailskidder. This isn't the last we'll see of them.**

**Thank you all for your support in reviews of the last chapter!**

**If you have any questions, comments or ideas, don't hesitate to put them in a review.**

**See you next time! **

**P.S. Does anyone know when the Beast Hunters season of Transformers Prime is coming out? I'm dying here!  
**


	3. New Trouble

**And thus, the journey back in time continues...**

**I don't own Transformers, a large company whose name starts with an 'H' and ends with an 'O' owns them. This is told in Soundwave's POV.**

**Let's get on with this!**

"Mmmm... H-Huh...? This isn't my room..." I looked up from my seat next to the berth. It was well into the morning and Halyard had woken up to the sun shining through the window onto her faceplates. I had only received a brief nap and remained awake for the remainder of the night. Something was driving me to stay out of recharge and watch over the battered femme.

The encounter with one of the Black Nails, Blackboom has succeeded in thoroughly putting me on edge. I know what I did was right, though it may have been smarter to have just ignored the transmission. Interrupting one of the members of the Black Nail has essentially put my name on their hit list. Not that it mattered at the moment. As of now Halyard was safe from harm in my own residence. Said femme looked around more and spotted me sitting next to her. The confused look on her faceplates intensified.

"Soundwave…? What are you doing here?" I blinked at her before answering gently.

"You are in my residence, Halyard."

The confusion on her face only grew more. I was about to remind her of her encounter earlier this morning when her memory reminded her for me.

"I sent you a transmission when I saw him…" Her glittering blue-green optics widened. Suddenly she tried to stand up from the berth. I automatically moved to urge her to lay back down, gently placing a servo over her spark. She would have none of it. Halyard started to panic as the memories of the recent incident resurfaced in her processor and threw my servo off. She had begun to yell, hurting my sensitive audio receptors.

"Where is he?! I was just- I was just reading a datapad when I heard the door… T-Then he came after me! I tried to run but I was too… I was too slagging _slow_! He caught me and then he-… he tried to…" The femme slumped back down onto the berth, strength in her voice waning with every word. I remained standing and flared my electromagnetic field to comfort her. I did not know what to say to comfort her, but perhaps my presence will help.

The femme turned slightly away from me, but the rattling of her armor was unmistakable. My pedes suddenly fused to the floor beside her. I have never experienced something like this. Life in Tagan Heights required a mech of a low caste to be insensitive and hard in all situations, regardless of who you are handling. It has hardened me just as it has for all other mechs here in Tagan Heights. But situations like this did not often arise among the low caste bots. Comforting a frightened femme is something that simply did not happen for the vast majority of bots living in this city-state. It was completely out of the ordinary.

I continued to look at the femme and quietly ventilated. The events of the past solar cycles have been far from ordinary. I am beginning to wonder about the full scale of what I may have gotten myself into.

Unable to think of anything else to do, I cautiously put a servo Halyard's shoulder. I knew that the femme before me was small, but I never realized just how small, as well as fragile, until now. My servo looked large on her shoulder, and I could have sworn I felt her protoform beneath her surprisingly thin armor. She refused to look at me, though I felt the tension in her struts lessen. I decided that it was a good sign. At least she was comfortable in my presence. She could have chosen to not trust mechs in general. It would be completely understandable, given the situation she was put through two times over. An almost foreign sensation washed over me as I gazed at her. Seeing her so dejected and frightened bothered me so much so that I vaguely wondered if something was wrong with me to feel so strongly about this.

"Halli." Her helm lifted at the use of her nickname, but she still did not move to look at me. I had never used it before, despite her previous requests. I had never felt comfortable using that name, until now. The formalities could wait for later. Now, she needed a friend.

"Halli, look at me." I added a slight commanding tone to my gentle voice. Reluctantly, her optics flicked in my direction.

"This was not your fault-" Suddenly she interrupted me, somehow caught between muttering and yelling.

"Yes it is! I should have sent you a fragging transmission as soon as I saw those freaks!" Confusion flashed through my processor. I took care not to show it as I asked her what she meant. The defeated expression on her face upon being asked instantly made me regret vocalizing my question. Thankfully, she regained some of her composure.

"The same night you gave me the access code for your residence frequency, I saw two of them. I don't know who they are, but- I saw them! I just happened to look outside and I saw them standing there outside on the east side of my building next to each other. They didn't see me looking at him… at least, I don't think so."

I narrowed my optics. They didn't happen to come across Halyard's residence. They knew exactly where she lived. They had to have followed the two of us to her residence. The Black Nail members were intent upon getting to her. Since she saw more than one of them, I know that all of them know where she lives. What I found strange about this situation was that only one attacker came for Halyard this morning. They could have dispatched all three of the mechs who initially attacked Halyard. With all three of the mechs they could have easily overwhelmed me, since they would have the advantage of surprise. Perhaps it was because Blackboom was the mech who was actually going to interface with her in the alley before I interrupted. The Black Nail knew I was coming, and yet they didn't send reinforcements.

Suddenly a revelation struck me. Perhaps they did not know that I was coming. They may have sent Blackboom alone because the three mechs want to take turns with her. The realization made the circumstances make sense now. Forestay, Tailskidder and Blackboom wanted to take turns interfacing with Halyard. I must be on guard at all times now. Had Blackboom had his way with her, she would have been too weak to fend off another attack from a mech possibly stronger than Blackboom. I have heard of a number of cases like this through the gossip at the factory complex and the local news. These serial attacks result in the death of the victim one hundred percent of the time. The local police sometimes paid attention to the severe cases, ones involving the more notorious Black Nail members, but the organized group was always one step ahead. Some believed that some of the leading mechs in the Tagan Heights police department have negotiated with the Black Nail leader on matters unknown to any common mech that was still online. There was nothing to support these rumors, but there was also nothing to refute them.

The leader of the Black Nail must know by now that I stopped Blackboom more than once from having his way with Halyard. Rumor has it that the leader of the group formed it vorns ago, solely to encourage lower caste mechs to interface freely. I have heard that their headquarters served that purpose all too well. Their methods of interfacing varied from a traditional spiking to more… _creative_ methods. I only know this because Chisel was one of the first members of the Black Nail vorns ago. He was one of the few mechs to escape their grip alive. He told me that they had a multitude of smaller mechs there that acted as service bots for another purpose beyond cleaning. Chisel said that the leader of the Black Nails were associated with a high quality restaurant and brewery on Tagan Height's far north side called Aileron's. It was completely understandable since the leader of the group provided good business for the restaurant owner in regards to the high grade the establishment makes.

My friend said that being in the group was pleasant in the beginning, and that he enjoyed being there. At first, it was a recreation center only for lower caste mechs. He said that the group wasn't full of 'interface-crazed thugs', as he put it. It was originally meant to be a place for mechs to relax and receive treatment that all lower caste mechs wanted but didn't get because of the laborious and potentially deadly tasks of the time-consuming factory work.

The concept of a group being formed for the purpose of interfacing seemed strange to me at best. But, I soon began to understand why. For working lower caste bots, recreation was considered a luxury that most could not afford. We factory workers know better than any bot of a higher caste that we were only expected to work and provide the materials the rest of Cybertron needs, like drones that needed nothing other than energon to continue working. We are left to provide recreation for ourselves. That recreation more often than not became interfacing. One I preferred to stay away from.

I returned my attention to Halyard, who was now looking me in the optics. There are more immediate things that need to be addressed. "Why didn't you contact me?"

I was just as upset as I was curious. What compelled this femme to wait in contacting me? She looked away from me again and stared at her servo in her lap. My comforting servo remained on her shoulder as she spoke again.

"I wanted to show that I wasn't weak. Everyone thinks that femmes are too weak to fight for ourselves... I just wanted to prove them wrong." A truly sad expression consumed the delicate features of her smooth faceplates. "I guess I am too weak."

I decided not to lecture her, knowing that she knew now that attempting to prove strength is not always a wise idea. I stood and sat next to the femme on my berth, arm wrapping around her shoulders.

"Halli, you can't blame yourself. It will be alright." She didn't respond at first, only leaning into me, perhaps without knowing it. Then, she gave a small chuckle.

"I have no luck at all, huh?" The Halyard I was accustomed to seeing was returning. The attempt to lighten the mood failed, but did not go unnoticed by me.

"I would like for you to remain here with me." She did not react by immediately denying my request, but rather, nodded understandably.

"Yeah, I guess that would be a smart idea." I looked down at the small femme, surprised at her response. I expected a completely different reaction from her. She understood that I wished to keep her safe by keeping her close to me. But soon, the understanding expression on her faceplates changed.

"But I still have to go work at the factory..."

"No, you don't." She gave me a sideways look.

"You know the manager won't let me skip out because I'm a femme."

My grip on her delicate shoulders tightened slightly. "I'll deal with the manager for you while you remain in my residence."

Halyard looked into my optics and smiled. "Well, I trust you. You do what you have to."

A warm feeling washed over my spark when she said that she trusted me. I looked at her again and rubbed her arm to comfort her more before leaving the room to retrieve an energon cube for her.

Having the femme move to my residence is the best option in regards to keeping her safe. I would also like for her to stay away from the factory complex since Blackboom, Forestay and Tailskidder, as well as other Black Nail members, work in the same factory building that Halyard and I work in. However, Halyard remaining in my residence will not be enough. I'll have to stay close to her.

The manager of the factory complex will only allow his fully functioning workers off under only one circumstance. Halyard may not like this option, but it is the only way to help secure her safety.

...

"Why are you here speaking for the new worker?" the factory manager glared at me from his desk as I stood in his cooled, well furnished office. Even while he was seated, I received the sensation that he was looking down at me. The mech was of a high caste, focused on business. All of the lower caste bots in the factory complex knew that he despised having to see us on such a regular basis. He couldn't care less about workplace safety and conditions, and as a result, work was more dangerous here than in other complexes. I am confident he would much rather be on the north side of Tagan Heights, conversing among other high caste bots. However, he loved profit more than he hated us, so he remained here. I looked back at him, expression unchanged under his glare.

"I am speaking on behalf of Halyard due to recent events." I said, choosing my word carefully. Before I could continue, the manager waved a servo at me.

"I know, I know. I've heard. She's your sparkmate." I blinked, careful to keep all emotions from reaching my faceplates. I realize that rumors about Halyard and I have spread around the factory, but I didn't pay attention to what the rumors contained. This assumption the manager made works in my favor, making it more likely for me to convince him to allow Halyard off work.

"She needs to be allowed off work." I said. He arched an optic ridge at me. I was uncomfortable with the lie I was about to tell, but I must focus. Now is not the time to begin questioning myself. Thankfully, he told my planned lie for me.

"So, I'm assuming she's carrying your sparkling." He hesitated, a thoughtful expression on his faceplates. Then he looked at me again, optics glowing slightly brighter.

"Factory work's too dangerous for any bot who's carrying. And I have a youngling myself, so I know the sire needs to be with the carrier. I'll give the femme indefinite leave from work. As for you..." He pointed at me with a stylus in his servo.

"I'll cut your work joors in half. You'll work the afternoon." He then picked up a datapad from his desk and began to read it, ignoring me. I took that as saying I was dismissed and turned to leave. Everything had gone as planned. Halyard was now able to stay away from the factory, away from the Black Nail members. And for much of the day I would be there with her to protect her. I was successfully able to further secure her safety. From what he told me, I am confident that he made the correct assumption that Halyard was in my residence. I was halfway out of the room when he spoke up again, tone softer than usual.

"I sent a transmission to the factory doctor. He'll go to your residence whenever he's available to check on your femme. Now go on home. I'm sure she's waiting on you."

I nodded once and left the room, swearing in my processor. He believed the lie, perhaps too much. Halyard was not carrying and the factory manager sent a doctor to see her. The factory doctor was often occupied with workplace accidents, so that will provide us at the very least a few solar cycles to figure out what our next course of action would be. If I am caught in this lie, the consequences of attempting to escape the duties of a lower caste are very severe. Because she is a femme, Halyard will be spared. If I am caught, I won't be able to protect the delicate femme. The thought of those three Black Nail members having their way with her made me feel sick. I quickly left the room and headed towards the main exit.

Chisel tapped me on the arm as I passed his station. I turned and looked at my friend to see him halfway through putting a batch of ore into his furnace, frame covered in soot. He arched an optic ridge at me.

"Hey, where are you going?" I looked at him. Chisel loved to gossip, but he never spread gossip about me, since he is well aware of how much I dislike it. He can be trusted if I told him where I was going.

"I am going home." My friend gave me a disbelieving look. I stepped closer to him so that fewer of the mechs who have turned and looked at us would the inevitable explanation Chisel would ask for.

"'Wave, you know you could get into a huge amount of trouble if you do that."

I looked at the taller mech. "I am well aware. The manager is allowing me to go."

Chisel furrow his optic ridges in confusion. "That AllSpark reject? You'd have to get sliced in half by the slagging metal sheet cutters for that fragger to let you off work for the day. What did you do to get him to say yes?"

I beckoned for him to come closer and once he complied, I told him the lie I told the manager. My friend looked shocked, likely because I would go so far out of the way to keep Halyard safe from harm.

"So, she's not carrying?" Chisel whispered after glancing around at the nearby working mechs. Thankfully, the noise of roaring furnaces, slamming metal presses (among many other things), as well as the sounds of workers gossiping, loudly swearing, and singing old praises to Primus simultaneously assisted in covering our conversation. I shook my helm. The femme was (as far as I know) not carrying.

"You'd better get busy. Otherwise, both of you had better make plans to move to Velocitron. You two'll be in for another world of trouble." I ventilated at the implications of 'get busy'. His voice had a serious edge underneath his joking tone. Chisel motioned towards the main exit and looked back down at me.

"Go ahead, Soundwave. Let me know if I can do anything to help out." I nodded once and left the complex. While I left the building, I felt a pair of optics melting the armor on my back. Optics I knew didn't belong to Chisel.

...

I found Halyard looking at one of my datapads as I entered my residence. She was standing in the front room, staring into a datapad she had taken down from one of the shelves. I was relieved that nothing out of the ordinary occurred while I was away. After I caught her attention, I told her of the result of meeting with the manager and the problem that had arisen because of that meeting.

"Oh, this is not good." She summarized this entire situation perfectly.

Halyard knew that I wished to protect her from the three Black Nail members and that it was my top priority. She had to have been surprised that I would risk my own safety in doing so. Now I would have I would have to deal with the Black Nail and the Tagan Heights labor management department. The Tagan Heights labor management is tied to the local authorities, essentially granting them the power to arrest any worker they saw fit. In their optics, attempting to escape work warrants arrest and severe punishment.

I cannot simply ignore the Black Nail; they are a more immediate and dangerous threat. Should I do that, I would be putting Halyard in grave danger. I cannot allow myself to be caught in a lie regarding the labor I perform. I will be taken away from Halyard, leaving her alone to fend for herself. The time at which the factory medic will come to my residence is unknown, worsening the situation. I racked my CPU searching for a possible solution to this situation. Halyard crossed her arms over her chassis, appearing to do the same.

We can't afford to leave Tagan Heights, plus, our efforts will be seen by the Black Nail or the local police. I am in far too deep to attempt to back out of the falsehood I told the manager, so that option remains completely out of the question. I looked at Halyard. Her lips were pressed together in a thin line as she searched her CPU for a logical explanation. She was handling this entire situation surprisingly well.

"Leaving's not an option and the doctor could come any day now... The only thing we can do is make a lie a truth." Her optics dimmed slightly as she turned her helm to look me in the optics.

She was correct. The only logical solution for this is for me to spark her.

**In a tight spot, huh, Soundwave? **

**The logical answer is indeed what Soundwave said, but doesn't necessarily mean he'll go ahead with it... Nothing's set in stone.**

**Thank you, all of you who reviewed the previous chapter. Glad for the support! **

**The Black Nail was once a group dedicated to recreation, but somewhere along the line, it corrupted. Chisel remained a member of the group when it started to go bad, but saw the bad intentions of the leader and left. His large size and strength alone are the only things that let him get out with his spark chamber intact. **

**If you have any questions, comments or ideas for me, don't hesitate to put it down in a review.  
Peace!**

**P.S. Yeah, I made up the insult 'AllSpark reject'. If you're wondering how bad of an insult it is, think, in human terms, an insult worse than getting spit on. I'm kinda proud of myself for coming up with that. X)**


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